A new report just released shed light on the economic impact of short-term rentals during football weekends in Gainesville and Tallahassee, helping the cities significantly expand lodging capacity and welcome the surge in visitors as hotels reached peak capacity.
Gainesville short-term rental hosts and operators using the Airbnb platform welcomed 5,175 guest arrivals and earned $562,000 in supplemental income during Gator home football weekends. The largest surge occurred when the Gators hosted the LSU Tigers during Homecoming weekend.
Over in Tallahassee, short-term rental hosts and operators using the Airbnb platform welcomed 3,285 guest arrivals and earned $372,000 in supplemental income during Seminole home games.
“By increasing available options, short-term rentals are helping boost local economies throughout Florida and bring more visitors to our state. The more visitors we can welcome to an area, the greater the benefit to the local restaurants and shops in the community where they will spend their time and money,” said Jennifer Frankenstein-Harris, President of the Florida Vacation Rental Management Association. “These short-term rentals also directly benefit the local property owners who are able to use this opportunity to generate extra income to help them pay their bills, invest in their community or save for the future.”
Local hotels in Gainesville and Tallahassee routinely achieve peak occupancy during home football games, with the growth of the short-term rental markets allowing both cities to host thousands of extra visitors and take full advantage of the unique economic opportunity presented by Gator and Seminole football. This benefits the local merchant community by keeping visitors’ food and shopping dollars within each city’s corporate limits.
At a broader level, hotels in Gainesville and Tallahassee have enjoyed steadily increasing occupancy rates and revenues, illustrating the value to the cities as short-term rentals expand lodging capacity during popular events and open up the market to families less able to afford hotels.
